A little confession...

I'll admit it....and I'm sure this won't come as a shocker to any of you who are loyal enough to still be checking my blog after months and months of no updates but....I HATE BLOGGING! Maybe hate is too strong of a word, but it is definitely a chore. A lot like cleaning bathrooms, eating green leafy things, and vacuuming out my car. But I still try to do my other chores because I like the end result. So I will keep making an effort to blog because I do like sharing bits and pieces of our lives with all of you, and I love reading your updates and feel bad about not reciprocating. So, without any more angst, here is the start of our 2010 Highlights:

We still have no shortage of Super Hero's in the house. Here are IronMan & Wolverine protecting their baby sis from the forces of evil. I decided to get in on the action and made Super Heroes the theme for Girls Camp this year....bring on the spandex & capes! :)

This year has been a Road-Trip year. We managed to make it down to St. George for 3 different weekends in January and February, twice for Kyle's IronMan training and once for my duathlon. We all loved being able to get out of the cold and get outside. And the kids got to go swimming--nevermind that the pool wasn't heated and it was only 50-60 degrees, they were unstoppable. Izzie has used our frequent road trips to hit all of her milestones, she rolled from her tummy to her back for the first time while we were down there in January and from her back to her tummy while we were there in February. And she started sitting on her own while we were in Cali in March. She still doesn't roll a whole lot (she's a big fan of sitting), but we know she can!

I can't believe how much she has changed between this pic (in January) and now!

Grandma & Grandpa Woody made it out to visit a couple of times. This is a rare moment for Izzie, she hardly ever sleeps outside of her crib.

One big thing we got checked off our list this past winter was we painted our vaulted ceiling in the living room! This is Kyle priming it---it was kind of a hassle to paint but SO worth it to have nice bright ceiling through the winter. We also painted that wall behind him bright blue, I'll post an "after-shot" later.....

Happy New Year!!

Here are a couple of pics of the Holidays which, as always, were over way too fast. There is really nothing better than celebrating Christmas with little kids. They love Santa and all the tradional fun stuff but there is also such a sweet spirit as we teach them about Jesus and talk about His birth. The Holiday season is still so new to them and so genuinely joyful and exciting, I love it! I tried my best amidst all of the chaos to really cherish it.

The Woodruff clan visiting Father Christmas at the Pioneer Christmas program in Salt Lake. Going was one of our Christmas presents from Grandpa & Grandma Woody. We had a ton of fun and the FREEZING COLD!! temperatures and wind really helped us feel at one with the pioneers.
Decorating the tree...as an added bonus this year we got to do this twice! We put our fake tree up in the loft and put all of our eclectic, fun ornaments on it. From the window over the garage we could see the tree almost anywhere in the neighborhood! We also found a great deal on this big beautiful real tree that we put in the living room. It's been a few years since we've had one and we enjoyed having that evergreen smell in our house. And we kept it alive until after New Years!! That is a first for Kyle and I and we are really proud of ourselves. I guess the trick is to water it :)Reading The Night Before Christmas with Daddy. We added a candlelight Nativity program to our Christmas Eve festivities this year and it will definitely make a come back next year. It was such a beautiful, peaceful way to end a fun day.Isabel got a Bumbo seat for Christmas. I highly recommend these to anyone with babies. She loves to sit in it and join us in the kitchen, at the table, etc. and feel like she's part of the group. You can see Jake in the background with his Didj, his Santa gift. We gave him free reign of it over that first weekend and didn't see him again until the batteries ran out. We've set a few rules now so that we can still see him from time to time. This is Hallie and I trying to figure out her "easy knitting" kit that Santa gave her. We got it eventually but I think when they say "easy" they are not taking into account the crafting impaired. And Mason got a new muscle Robin suit to replace his old suit that has been slowly disintegrating every time I wash it. One of my Moms favorite Christmas traditions is to buy matching Christmas PJs and Church clothes for all of the kids (and matching PJ pants for all of the adults). The kids are always so cute in their matching digs.Candy Cane Coffee Cake!!

We outdid ourselves this year and made 14!! for family and friends that we delivered on Christmas Eve Morning.This is not necessarily a Christmas Pic but it was too darn cute not to include.

Sweet Baby Girl

I can't believe Izzie is already over three months old! Here are just a few of the pics of her over the last few months....

Jake's First Day of School

Mason and Jake love to ride/walk/scooter to and from Jake's school together everyday. It's getting COLD now (it's only 11 degrees out today) so I'm driving them more often, but they still walk whenever they get the chance.

Happy December!

This is the start of our family update...going back a few months to where we left off here are some great pics of Grandma Woody visiting (Grandpa came too but didn't make it into any pictures) and of Masons 3rd Birthday (Super Hero/Batman/Buzz Lightyear themed).

Here is Hallie and Grandma making Whipped Syllibub (out of the American Girl Doll Cookbook), which is now one of her favorite drinks.

And MORE baby pics.

We just had Izzie's pics taken and the photographer has posted some pics she's finished on her blog. So for more Woodruff family pics, click on this link:

Isabel Pics

That's it for now.

More baby pics

First of all, I've gotta give a quick shout out to the Cougs tonight for the win over Oklahoma! Doesn't matter what happens the rest of the season...we'll always have that.

Now, I've attempted this many times over the past week and been very abruptly kicked out as I've finished and "posted" the entry. As you can tell, that wasn't working so well and lead to a complete overhaul of my computer. Looks like that did the trick so here we go.

I'm not sure how much longer this "blogging" thing is going to last for me. I guess my cute little baby girl has inspired me temporarily and Jamie is taking full advantage. So without further adieu here are some more pics. I'm going to give you a quick update of our summer, in reverse, starting with a few more of baby Izzie.

Whoa, hello chubby baby!

We were lucky enough to have my parents (Grandma & Grandpa Woody) here over the past week or so. Mom was able to stay longer, but they were a HUGE help with the kids, the house, and everything else while I went back to work and Jamie recovered and got used to the idea of being a mother of FOUR!

Here's Grandma Woody jumping with parachutes on the tramp with the boys. Thanks for the inspiration Todd.

What a cute, peaceful baby girl. She has no idea what's coming! A bath in the kitchen sink, ha, ha, ha.


Grandma and Grandpa Woody brought the kids a great play house that they could paint and color all over...they're having a great time with it. And yes, it doubles as the Bat Cave. We are still often graced with the presence of our adopted child Robin.


Izzie after her sink-bath. Yes, she was our biggest baby. Yes, she's a little chubby and has been eating since the moment she was born. And yes, she's trying to eat the towel.

Here's the not-so-little fam ready to leave the hospital.

Baby Izzie in her take-home outfit.

The kids had couldn't get enough of her while we were in the hospital. They're a little more distracted now that we're home, but they sure love their new baby sister.

Jake's favorite part of the hospital was the free gloves. When he first put them on he started calling himself Dr. Woodmansee (our pediatrician). It wasn't too long though before he wanted to be known as Dr. Jake. What Nate, afraid he's going to steal your doctor thunder?

The weekend before Isabel was born, we decided to do one last camping trip for the summer. The boys got to where their head-lamps, we went on a night hike in the mountains, told bed time stories, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, watched a lightening storm, and had a great time.

And yes, Jamie was a great sport and came along. In fact, it was her idea to go...I think she was hoping the incredibly uncomfortable night would induce labor. No such luck.

Now, I'll catch you up on our summer...

Hallie started second grade this year. Here she is, so excited, on her first day of school. The boy still wishing that they could go with her.

Potty Parties were a common scene at our house this summer. Despite some serious support from his older siblings, Mason STILL remains unsuccessful.

One of the highlights of our summers is the forth of July--Hallie's birthday. Here are some pics from the day's festivities and Hallie's party.

One tradition I am SOOO excited about is the parade. The kids love it and, well, I'm either going to learn to love it or just hope to survive the next ten years of forth of July morning torture.

Not sure where this inspiration came from, but the boys thought it would be fun to play outside in 100 degree weather in their snow clothes.

There are more summer pics, but this is all I've got in me tonight. We'll post more later.